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The North-South Divide in England
The North-South divide in England North and South *division into North and South is a simplification **there is no uniform North or South *Midlands can be disregarded *can be extended to include Scotland and Wales *special status of London Historical development *Industrial Revolution **started in Britain **late 18th / early 19th century **changed nearly all aspects of life ***industrialised and modern North, rural and traditional South (19th century) ****North *****new employment opportunities -> population increased dramatically *****economic situation improved ******but: poor living and working conditions *****working class emerged ****South *****agriculture (low wages) *****second half of the century: decline in agriculture, rise in service sector *****middle class *early 20th century **new industries (e.g. car industry) emerged in the South **beginning deindustrialisation in the North ***narrow range of industries -> structural weakness **idea of a North-South divide came into being *second half of the 20th century **until the 1970’s: economic growth, welfare state **the North was still shaped by industrialism **deindustrialisation continued ***globalisation ***post-industrial society / economy ***the North could not recover **Thatcherism fuelled the development ***laissez-faire economics ***non-interventionist policy ***favoured service sector-economy over the industrial economy of the North ***the South as the “New Britain” ***North-South divide was played down **new economy developed in the South ***high technology industry, information technology, telecommunication etc. **rapid growth in the service sector in the South, slow growth in the North ***in total six million new jobs were created from 1975 - 2000 ***today: 77% of the GDP **at the end of the century: depressed North, dynamic South Situation today *socio-economic gap between North and South ** employment opportunities, unemployment rates, average incomes, etc. **North-South wealth divide at its highest level for more than 30 years **number of people living on the breadline much higher in the North *GVA per head (2010) **England: £20,974 **South East: £21,924 **North East: £15,744 *unemployment rate (2010, second quarter) **England: 7.7% **South East: 6.1% **North East: 9.4% *average income (GDHI per head, 2009) **England: £15.545 **South East: £17.292 **North East: £13.026 *the North-South divide is not only an economic divide, but also affects many other areas *health (care) **significantly worse in the North **people in the North drink more alcohol and smoke more **obesity is more common in the North **life expectancy is lower in the North **male life expectancy ***Manchester: 71.8 years ***North Dorset: 79.2 years *people in the North are, in general, less educated **people with a degree tend to move to the South *politics **North: Labour Party, South: Conservative Party ***Labour is, however, not a working class-party anymore **political disengagement: higher number of non-voters in the North *culture, media & stereotypes **negative image of the North ***long tradition: Elizabeth Gaskell: North and South (1855) **Northerners: simple-minded, strange accent, rural, dull **Southerners: posh, arrogant, unfriendly *future perspectives **it is unlikely that the divide will disappear in the near future ***government spending is slowing down ****less programmes to revitalise the North ****less jobs in the government sector ***current economic crisis ***people form the North move southwards to find work, people from the South move rarely to the North **there are some exceptions, though **: Leeds: a “northern success story” **: Liverpool: European Capital of Culture Sources Carvel, John: “North-south divide widens in health map of England”, The Guardian, 23 Oct. 2007, < http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/oct/23/health.northsouthdivide> Carvel, John: “North-south life expectancy gap grows wider”, The Guardian, 16 Oct. 2004, Day, Elizabeth: “North v South”, The Guardian, 28 Oct. 2007, Dorling, Danny: “The North-South Divide - Where is the line?”, Howell, Phillip: “Industry and Identiy: 1830-1818”, in: Baker, Alan R., Billinge, Mark (eds): Geographies of England: The North-South Divide, Material and Imagined, 2004, pp. 44-63. Martin, Ronald L.: “The contemporary debate over the North-South divide”, in: Baker, Alan R., Billinge, Mark (eds): Geographies of England: The North-South Divide, Material and Imagined, 2004, pp. 15-43. Sammon, Geoff: “The other England: the north-south divide”, 1997. Warren, Tom: “Life in UK 'has become lonelier'”, BBC News, 01 Dec. 2008, “Regional Gross Disposable Household Income (GDHI) 1995-2009”, Office for National Statistics, 30 Mar. 2011, “Regional, sub-regional and local Gross Value Added 2010”, Office for National Statistics, 14 Dec. 2011,